Ashtakshara mahatyam-- the glories of the Ashtakshara mantra

Hari Aum.

I recently came across a very interesting document called the 'Ashtakshara mahatmyam'. This involves a wonderful conversation between two rishis (sages)-- the great Vyasa (incarnation of Vishnu Himself and composer of the Mahabharata and  Srimad Bhagavatam) and his equally great son, Shuka (who narrates the events of the life of Krishna within the Bhagavatam).

In this conversation, the father, Vyasa, tells the son, Shuka, about the glories of the Ashtakshara mantra-- Om Namo Narayanaya. 

(Note: For those unfamiliar with Sanskrit, 'ashta' means eight, and 'akshara' means syllable. Actually 'akshara' literally means 'imperishable' or 'undecaying' or 'eternal'. So ashta+akshara= ashtakshara means 'eight syllables' i.e. the eight syllable mantra. These syllables are discussed below as part of the the translation of the Mahatmyam.)

The Mahatmyam begins with Shuka asking his father, Vyasa, to tell him about a mantra that will relieve people of all suffering and grant them the highest bliss.

Vyasa responds by telling him about the Ashtakshara mantra. He tells Shuka that one who recites this mantra gets everything there is to get-- both material and spiritual.

This mantra, he says, grants the four great goals of life, namely-- dharma (goodness; the basis of the other three goals), artha (material wealth), kama (pleasures/enjoyment in life) and the greatest goal of all, moksha (liberation from all suffering; realisation of one's true immortal nature).

I have been studying Sanskrit for about a year and a half and have a decent basic grasp of the language (though there is still plenty to learn and therefore I am still very much continuing my studies). Nonetheless, I now feel I am able to enjoy reading some of our scriptures in the original and also begin to grasp the meaning better.

I have not been able to find a decent translation of the Ashtakshara mahatmyam anywhere online to share with you. I am therefore attempting to share a translation to the best of my ability with you (using my trusty Sanskrit-English dictionary as an aid of course!).

The Mahatmyam is lengthy (36 slokas) and my Sanskrit knowledge is not perfect so I will not provide a full translation of the entire document here.

I will, however, provide you a translation of some of the key verses and ideas described in the Mahatmyam. The reason for this exercise is simple-- inspiration. I have found it greatly inspiring to read this document myself. It provides a number of excellent reasons to chant the ashtakshara mantra of Narayana. I hope that those of you who are also interested in this mantra will find this Mahatmyam inspiring.

(As Sivananda says, all mantras of the Supreme Being are equally great. The Ashtakshara mahatmyam describes the glory of one such great mantra of the Supreme.)

Please see below for a link to a website which contains the entire Ashtakshara mahatmyam in Sanskrit and some Indian regional languages.

https://stotram.co.in/om-namo-narayanaya-ashtakshara-mahatmyam/

The link below is to the document in Sanskrit (which I have used as a reference for the translation below):

https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_vishhnu/OMnamonArAyaNAyaaShTAksharamantramAhAtmya.pdf

So let us begin.

Om Namo Narayanaya. Salutations to the great Lord Narayana.

The Ashtakshara mahatmyam-- Glories of the Om Namo Narayanaya mantra.

Shri Shuka said to sage Vyasa:

1. "Kim japan muchyate tata, satatam Vishnu tatparah;
samsara-dukhat sarvesham hitaya, vada me pitah"

 "By the recitation of which mantra O father, do those who are always intent upon attaining Vishnu, obtain liberation?  Tell me that which relieves all the pains of samsara (worldly existence; the cycle of birth and death) and which is for the good for all."

Rishi Vyasa replied:

2. "Ashtaksharam pravakshyami, mantranam mantram-uttamam;
yam japan muchyate martyo, janma-samsara-bandhanat."

 "I will tell you about the eight-syllabled mantra, the best among mantras. By chanting this mantra, mortals attain freedom from the bondage of the cycle of birth and death."

3. "Having placed the wielder of the discus, conch and mace (Vishnu) in the lotus of the heart (anahata chakra), the twice-born (meaning those reborn to spiritual life) should meditate upon Him with one-pointed mind while repeating this mantra."

4. "In solitude, in a place without others, in front of Vishnu or at a place near water (e.g. river bank), one should recite the eight-syllabled mantra while fixing the mind on Him."

5. "The eight-syllabled mantra has Narayana Himself as the seer (rishi), the metre is the Goddess Gayatri and the deity is the Supreme Being."

Vyasa now goes on to describe the colours associated with each of the eight syllables of the mantra. It is said that Sanskrit syllables are associated with forms and therefore colours. There may be further esoteric hidden meanings of these slokas that will become clearer to us when our minds are purified by recitation of the mantra.

The syllables of this mantra are eight as follows: Om, Na, Mo, Na, Ra, Ya, NA, ya. Note there are two types of N sounds-- Na and NA. This is described further in my previous post here: https://mantrayoga.blogspot.com/2017/12/how-to-pronounce-ashtakshara-mantra-of.html)

6. "Of white colour is the syllable “Om”, the syllable “Na” is said to be red in colour. The syllable “Mo” is said to be black in colour, the syllable “Na” is red in colour."

7. "The “Ra” syllable is the colour of vermilion, the “Ya” syllable is yellow. The syllable “NA” is the colour of collyrium, and the “Ya” syllable is of many colours."

8. "The Om Namo Narayanaya mantra allows one to achieve all the goals of life. When recited with devotion, it grants one heaven and liberation. It is an eternal perfect mantra containing the Omkara of the Vedas."

9. "Destroyer of all sins, most auspicious, this mantra is the best of all mantras. While remembering Lord Narayana, one should recite this eight-syllabled mantra."

10. "One who chants this at the transition period between day and night (dawn and dusk; known as ‘sandhya’ in Sanskrit), and at all times, is completely freed from all sins. This alone is the highest mantra, this alone is the highest austerity."

I have provided a translation of the first ten slokas (out of 36) of this Mahatmyam-- this has been done by painstakingly checking the dictionary and using my pre-existing Sanskrit knowledge. I have attempted a draft of the rest of the document but it is not perfect (I am not sure of the exact meaning of some words) so I cannot give you a full translation of the rest.

I can however grasp the meaning of many of the words of the rest of the document (even if not all of them) so I can give you a gist, an idea, of the meaning of these.

After the above discussion, Vyasa tells Shuka that this mantra is grants heaven and liberation, it is the secret of the Vedas.

He then says:

One should repeat this mantra after bathing/becoming physically clean and this will lead to one becoming free of all sins.

One should recite this mantra before and after all actions.

Even great sins are erased by this mantra (i.e. the karmic effect is erased as the name of God purifies our mind and recitation is a form of penance for past misdeeds).

Vyasa then gives a description of the results obtained after chanting the mantra 1 lakh times, 2 lakh times, 3 lakh times, 4 lakh times, 5 lakh times, 6 lakh times, 7 lakh times and finally, 8 lakh times. (For those who may be unfamiliar with the term 'lakh', this refers to a number within the Indian system of counting and represents the number 100,000 i.e. one hundred-thousand).

In a nutshell, he says that after the:

1st lakh: the soul is purified
2nd lakh:  pefect intelligence is attained
3rd lakh: the soul acquires enough spiritual merit to attain heaven (the realm of the demi-gods)
4th lakh: one acquires closeness to God
5th lakh: one acquires pure wisdom
6th lakh: the mind becomes established in God
7th lakh: one obtains the form of one's ishta devata (swaroopam, a lower form of samadhi/realisation)
8th lakh: one obtains liberation, experience of God, realisation of one's God-nature

In effect, therefore, Vyasa describes the effects of the japa component of a purascharana of the ashtakshara mantra.

(Note- Sivananda says that, in this Kali yuga, one may have to do many lakhs (not only eight) or purascharanas of this or any other mantra of God to attain liberation as a lot of mental purification is needed.)

Vyasa then says that recitation of this mantra protects one from all sorts of negative things in the world including thieves, snakes, bad dreams and negative spirits. He says it frees one even of the fear of death (as one realises one's true immortal nature).

He then explains that this mantra grants all material fortune including long life, wealth, children, wisdom and fame.

He emphatically declares that this mantra grants the four great goals of life-- dharma (goodness; the basis for the other three goals), artha (wealth), kama (pleasures/enjoyment in life) and moksha (spiritual liberation).

He concludes by exhorting his son, Shuka, to recite this mantra and attain all that he has described above.

"Ashtaksharam-imam mantram, sarva-dukha-vinashanam;
Japa putra maha-buddhe, yadi siddhim-abhipsasi"

"This ashtakshara mantra destroys all suffering;
Recite this O my son of great intelligence, if you desire to attain perfection".

So there we have it.

Sage Vyasa himself, the great rishi, advises his own beloved son, the noble Shuka, to recite the ashtakshara mantra to attain perfection.

Those of us who like this mantra may therefore take inspiration from this discussion between this father and son. Let us follow Vyasa's advice and recite the Om Namo Narayanaya mantra many many times to attain perfection.

On that note I will mention that I am plodding along with my fifth purascharana. It is no easy task-- due to work and childcare responsibilities, I have been doing 12 malas daily (more than my previous 11, but not the 15 malas I had originally wanted). Anyway, something is better than nothing, and at this rate, I will complete the purascharana at the end of next year.

Om Namo Narayanaya.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Om Namo Narayanaya.

May Narayana bless us all.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.